L.A. Angels fall to New York Yankees on day general manager Jerry Dipoto resigns

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ANAHEIM, CA – JULY 01: Chris Young #24 of the New York Yankees beats the tag of second baseman Johnny Giavotells #12 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim as he slides into second with double in the sixth inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on July 1, 2015 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

The Angels on Wednesday had their general manager — Jerry Dipoto — resign amid ongoing friction with manager Mike Scioscia, with former GM Bill Stoneman taking the interim job. But they still had a game to play against the New York Yankees, so they had to try to find a way to put aside what had to be a distraction.

They couldn’t do it, and the Yankees rode a solid pitching performance by hard-throwing Nathan Eovaldi and just enough offense to a 3-1 victory over the Angels before 40,938 at Angel Stadium.

Eovaldi (8-2) pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed no runs on five hits. He struck out three and walked three in picking up the victory.

The Angels (41-38) had their four-game winning streak snapped and fell five games behind Houston in the AL West. The Yankees (42-37) had lost three in a row and are a half-game behind Baltimore in the AL East.

Matt Shoemaker (4-7) started for the Angels and threw 5 2/3 innings, giving up two earned runs on seven hits. He struck out three, walked one and absorbed the loss.

Shoemaker gave up a third-inning RBI single to Chase Headley and a sixth-inning home run to Garrett Jones, his fifth.

“We had a good game plan,” Shoemaker said. “We executed it for the most part. The unfortunate part, when I look back on it, I had one bad pitch and it was to Jones and it was a solo shot. And, obviously, we lost the game.”

The Angels’ only run came on Mike Trout’s 21st home run of the season in the eighth inning.

Eovaldi was throwing 99 miles per hour.

“Yeah, he threw the ball well today, mixed his pitches well and anybody who throws that hard, you’re going to have to go out there and battle,” said Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun, who went 0 for 3 against Eovaldi with two strikeouts.

After the game, Calhoun and others talked about the change in the front office. Calhoun said he is not concerned about it becoming a distraction.

“We’ve got a lot of veteran leadership here, so they’re keeping us focused on going out and playing ball,” he said.

Closer Huston Street echoed that sentiment.

“I think a lot of the players have already said it, and I think that’s going to kind of be the way we have to go about it as players — just be players,” Street said. “Just be players and go play.”